Transfer mechanism



Feb. 27, 1962 F. B. DAvls ETAL TRANSFER MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet l Filed April 27,v 1959 INVENToRs fkn/vx 8. 0A ws Jon/v me/roc Mn,

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wmv @a mw SALLITI hill Feb. 27, 1962 F. B. DAvls ETAL TRANSFER MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENToR f/'PANK 5. nws Jon/v L. @ARA/oc 4f I I l Filed April 2'?, 1959 Feb. 27, 1962 F. B. DAVIS ETAL TRANSFER MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 27, 1959 5 www l; TA ,l E me? M W82? m 1 L r MN A MH cw l am, a

Feb. 27, 1962 F. B. DAvls ETAL TRANSFER MEcHANIsM Filed April 27. 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet fQAN/ZIIg/.EN 25g H6. 4 BY o HN nmfocy F. B. DAvls vl-:TAL 3,022,526

TRANSFER MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 I,....,...... lin Q I.. W I/ Feb. 27,l 1962 Filed April 27, 1959 United States Patent 3,022,526 TRANSFER MECHANISM Frank B. Davis, Lakewood, and John L. Barkocy, Stow, Ohio, assignors to The Lamson & Sessions Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Am'. 27, 195,9, Ser. No.V 809,292 9 Claims. (Cl. 10-76) This invention relates to die apparatus of the kind having a group of dies for metal working operations, such as for progressively forming nut blanks or other articles by cold working. More particularly the invention relates to transfer mechanism in association with such a group of dies, for transferring the blanks from one to another of the dies and, as one of its objects, provides novel mechanism of this kind with which a more rapid rate of production can be achieved, as well as a smoother and quieter functioning than has been obtainable from previous forms of such mechanisms.

Transfer mechanisms of various kinds have been proposed heretofore, several of which have article carriers swingably movable from one to another of the dies of a die row for transferring the blanks from one to another of such dies. In some cases, the swinging of the carriers has been a simple tilting swinging thereof in a single plane extending transversely of the die axes. In other cases the carriers have had translatory movements, or translatory and swinging movements.

In various die operations it is desirable to reverse the blank end-for-end as it is transferred from one die of a series to the nest die and which can be referred to as a reversing or turn-over movement. In some situations such a turn-over transfer movement is desirable between certain pairs of adjacent dies of a series and a straight transfer movement (without reversal) is desirable between other pairs of dies of the same series. When needed. such a turn-over transfer movement has been obtained in some cases by a pivotal swinging of an article carrier having holder fingers offset from the pivot axis. In other cases it has been obtained by use of an article carrier pivotally mounted in a head which is swingably connected with the die support or in a slide which is reciprocable in such a swingably connected head.

Such previous mechanisms providing a turn-over transfer movement have usually been complex and cumbersome and have not only been slow and noisy in operation, but required a longer travel for the punch-carrying slide or ram of the fabricating machine to accommodate the movements of the article carriers. In such prior mechanisms there has also been the problem of centrifugal force causing the blanks to be thrown out of the carriers during the turn-over swinging thereof, particularly when attempts have been made to accelerate the speed of operation to obtain increased production. Such speed-up attempts have usually also resulted in increased noise and equipment damage, due to slapping of the article carriers against the dies.

As another object thereof, this invention accordingly provides novel transfer mechanism of a simple and practical forrn and by which a turn-over transfer movement of the blanks is obtainable between a pair of dies with only a minimum clearance space needed Vfor the article carrier, so that a shorter stroke can be tolerated for the slide carrying the punches and a faster rate of production achieved.

A further object is to provide novel transfer mechanism comprising an article carrier having a back-andforth travel between a pair of dies and actuating means for producing such travel as a combined or compound movement comprising a tilting swinging of the carrier and a pivotal movement thereof in response to the tilting swinging.

3,022,526 Patented Feb. 27, 1962 ECC Stili another object is to provide novel transfer mecha*- nism 'of the kind mentioned just above wherein the carrier is supported and tiltably swung by a rockshaft and is mounted on the latter by pivot means providing for a turn-over pivotal movement of the carrier during the tilting swinging thereof, the Yturnover pivotal movement preferably being produced by co-operating gear members connected respectively with the carrier and the die support.

. Yet another object is to provide novel transfer mechanism comprising a rockshaft having a crank arm and an associated article carrier tiltably swingable between a pair of dies for a direct transfer of articles therebetween, and wherein co-operating guide slot and guide pin elements on the crank arm and carrier cause the tilting swinging in response to rocking of the rockshaft.

Additionally, this invention provides novel transfer mechanism comprising first and second rockshafts associated with article carriers -having direct and turn-over tilting swinging movements respectively, and wherein the rockshafts and their associa-ted article carriers are interchangeable on the die support.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent in the following detailed description and in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which,

FIG.l l is a front elevation showing the transfer mechanism of this invention in operative association with a die support having a row of dies thereon, theV article carriers being shown in their article-receiving position;

FIG. 2 is a similar front elevation but showing the article carriers in a different operative position, namely, in their article-delivery position;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the mechanism showing the condition thereof when the article carriers are at the mid-point of their travel;

FIG. 4 is a vertical arial section taken on sectlon line 4-4 of FIG. 3 and showing an article carrier ha1 ing a direct transfer movement;

FIG. 5 is a similar vertical axial section taken through the mechanism on section line 5--5 of FIG. 3 and showing an article carrier having a turn-over transfer movement;

FIG. 6 is a vertical axial section corresponding with a portion of FIG. 4 and showing the direct transfer earrier on a larger scale; and

FIG. 7 is a partial front elevation showing one of the turn-over article carriers at the mid-point of its travel.

As one practical embodiment of this invention the drawings show die apparatus 1t) comprising a support 1i having a group or series 12 of metal working dies thereon and transfer mechanism 13 operably associated with such series of dies for transferring articles or blanks from one to another of the dies of the series.

The die series 12 is here shown as comprising a laterally extending row of stationary dies, in this instance ve dies 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19, which can be metal working dies such as dies for the progressive forming of nut blanks or the like by cold working. The support 11 is connected with, or formed as a part of',the frame 20 of a conventional fabricating machine such as a cold header` 21. In the apparatus here shown the support 11 has a at front face 22 lying in a transverse vertical plane and the dies of the series 12 are mounted in suitable recesses 23 extending into the support from such front face.

In the die series 12 here shown, the die member 15 at the left-hand end of the series can be one of a pair of cooperating conventional cut-off dies by which a cylindrical blank or slug 25 can be cut from rod stock and made available for processing into a nut blank by the succeeding dies of the series; The die members 16, 17 and 18 are progressive forming dies by which the blank 25 can be progressively shaped into a conventional form of hexagonal nut blank. Blanks 26, 26a and 26b are shown in FIGS. l and 2 and represent such progressively formed blanks. The die member 19'at the opposite end of the seriesrcan'be a trimming or piercing die in which a iinal shaping or treatment of the nut blank 26h is accomplished.

' r'he'dies of the series 12 are disposed in a spaced-apart relation sov that the axes of the die recesses are in a parallel relation and lieV in' a common horizontal plane 'extending perpendicular to the front face 22 of the support 11.l The opening or recess 30 of the die member 15 can be a through passage through which rod stock or severed blanks are advanced to theY front face 22, and the openingor-recess 31 of the die 19 can likewise be a through passage through which the completed blanks can be pushed in succession. The intermediate forming dies 16, 17 and 18 will usually be provided with conventional knockout or ejector pins {not shown) by which theV blanks can be ejected from the die recesses in the usual way after the forming'operation thereon.

The die apparatus also includes a group or series 33 of movable punches for co-operation with the dies 16, 17,18`and 19 of the die series 12 andcomprising punches 34, 35, 36 and 37 located opposite the dies 16,17, 18 and 19 respectively. The recesses ot the stationary die members are of an appropriate shape for the articles or blanks to be processed therein, and likewise, the punches are valso of a suitable shape for co-operation with their associated dies and appropriate for the articles'or blanks being processed. kThe punches34, 35, 36 and 37 are mounted respectively in suitable punch holders 38, 39, 40 and 41 which are carried by a reciprocatingslide or 42of the'fabricating machine or header 21.

'i 46 and 47 in their article-receiving position adjacent the dies 15, 16, 17 and 18 respectively. FIG. 2 shows the carriers 44, 45, `46 and 47 in their article-delivery position adjacent the dies 16, 17, 18 and 19 respectively.

Thus the carrier 44 operates to receive the blanks 25 inV succession from the die and to convey them to the die 16. The carriers 45, 46 and 47 operate to receive the formed, or partially formed, blanks 26, 26ai and 26b from the dies 16, 17 and 1'8 and to advance such blanks to the dies 17, 18 and 19.

To enable the carriers 44, 45, 46 and 47 to perform Ytheir transfer function, they are located adjacent the front face 22 of the die support 11 and have a back-and-forth loperating movementin a planar path area lying in an adjacent parallel relation to such front face andV which operating movement Will be further described hereinafter, The carriers 44 Vand 47 are of an identical construction and are of a kind which can be conveniently referred torY as a nonreversing carrier inasmuch as these carriers operate to advance the blanks 25 and 26b being handled there- Vby with a directV transfer movement as distinguished from a reversing or turn-overY transfer movement, Since the carriers 44 and 47 and their actuating mechanisms are of an identical construction only one of these carriers, namely the carrier 44, and its associated Yactuating mechanism need be described in detail. Y

TheY carriers 45 and 46 areY of the kind which operate to l 51 thereon in the form-o a pair of co-operating fingers 52.

The staff 50 includes a blade portion 53 extending between the iingers 52 and on which the fingers are flexibly mounted as by means of a screw 54 extending through the lingers and blade and carrying a compression spring 55. The exible connection between the ngers and blade also includes a dowel'pin or the like 4S.

The tinge'rs 52 are provided on the adjacent sides there-Y of with opposed notches forming anl article receiving recess 56 of an appropriateV size and shape for the blank or article to be releasahly held by the tingers. The screw 54 and the spring 55 connect'the'ngers'52 with the blade 53 so as to provide a limited amount of yielding movement `or exibility for the fingers to enable them to grip and releasably hold the blank being received in the recess 56.

The carrier 45 likewise comprises a stan 58 having a blade portion 59 and a pairof fingers 52 iiexibly connected with the blade in a similar manner, that is to say, by means of a screw 54 having a compression spring 55 thereon and a dowel or the like 48. The iingers 52 of the carrier 45 likewise have notches therein forming an article receiving recess 56 of an appropriate size and shape for the blank to be releasably held therein. l

When thecarriers 44, 45,V 46 and 47 are in their articlereceiving position of FIG. l, the iinger Yrecesses 56 thereof Vlie opposite the openings ofthe dies 15, 16, 17 and 18 and the blanks 25, 26, 269? and 26b are pushed endwise out of Vthe dies into the nger recesses. Whenthe carriers 44, 45,

46 Vand 47 are in their article-delivery position of FIG. 2, the finger recesses 56 then lie opposite the openings ofthe vdies 16, 17, 18 and'19 at whichtime the blanks areV in a position to be pushed out of the inger recesses and into the die openings by the punches 34, 35', 36 and 37. 'Ihe turn-over pivotal movement of the holder means 51 of the carriers 45 and 46 is Ya substantially l80 movement from one extreme position with one side face of the fingers 52 presented atwise toward one die member to another extreme position with the opposite side face of the'tingers presented atwise toward another ofthe die members.

The transferL mechanismV 13 also compriseslaesuitable z V44, 45, 46 and 47. VIn -addition to the connecting screws 62, the housing 61 can be connectedjwith Ythe support 11 by means of Aa hinge pin 63 extending'through pairs of co-operating pivot eyes 64 and 65 provided on the support and housing. Y -Y s The connection provided by the hinge pin 63 is a pivotal `connection by which the transfer mechanism 13 Vcan be swung upwardly and rearwardly as a unit for lifting the article carriers to a more accessible position for adjustments or services operations needed to be performed thereon. mechanism 13 is that shown in the drawings and in which it is retained by the screws 62.V The Yswinging of the'trans'- fer mechanism 13 tothe lifted position mentioned just above is accomplished after loosening or removing the screws 62. i

VThe housing 61 is providedv with a transverse row of hollow bearings or bushings 67 disposed in a spaced-apart relation and with their axes extending parallellto the axes of the die members of the die series 12, that is, perpendicular to the plane of the front face 22. The bushings 67 are also disposed so that their axes are located opposite the mid-points of the space intervals between the adjacent pairs of die ymembers ofthe die series 12. Thus the bushings 67a of such row Vof bushings is located opposite the mid-point ofthe space interval between the die Ymembers 15 and 16, and the bushing 67b is located opposite the mid-point of the space Vinterval between the die members 16 and 17. i

The housing 61 is also provided with curved wall portions'or bosses 68 extending over the upper segments of the bushings 67 in a concentric relation thereto and which bosses form mounting seats for a purpose explainedhere- The'normal working position of the transferV v for a purpose to be explained'hereinafter.

inafter. The housing 61 contains a cross chamber or recess 69 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) adjacent the rear or inner ends of the bushings 69 and extending transversely to the axes of such bushings. Additionally, the housing 61 is provided with a guideway 70 in the upper portion thereof and which is in communication with the chamber 69 through a connecting slot 71. A cover member 72 attached to the housing 61 by suitable screws 73 overlies the guideway 70.

As shown in FIGS. l, 2 and 4, the housing 61 is also provided in the lower portion thereof with a row of pivot pin openings 75 in which pivot pins 76 can be mounted The openings i5 are located below the bushings 67 and are disposed with their axes extending parallel to, and lying in common vertical planes with, the axes of these bushings. In other words, the axes of the pivot pin openings 75 lie opposite the mid-points of the space intervals between the pairs of dies of the die series 12. Set screws 77 are provided in the housing 61 in association with the pivot pin openings 75, for retaining the pivot pins 76 in the latter when such pivot pins are needed, and to permit the removal of the pivot pins when they are not needed.

The supporting and actuating means for the article carrier 44 can now be described and, as shown in the drawings, includes one of the pivot pins 76 and a-rockshaft 79. rhe pivot pin 76 is of such length that apportion thereof projects from the opening 75 and overhangs the front face 22 of the die support 11. The carrier 44 is swingably supported by the projecting portion of the pivot pin 76 and, for this purpose, includes a rocker member Si) having Va sleeve portion SIFL journalled on the projecting portion of the pivot pin and retained thereon by a nut 81 engaging a threaded portion of such pivot pin. A washer 82- is preferably provided between the nut 81 and the outer end of the sleeve portion a.

The rocker member 80 has 'projecting arms 83 and 84 above and below the pivot pin 76 and the stad 500i the article carrier 44 is attachedlto these arms by suitable connecting screws -85 and 86. The intermediate portion of the stati` 5G is provided with an opening 87 of a size to accommodate the projecting outer end of the pivot pin 76 and the nut and washer elements 81 and 82 of the latter.

The openings of the staff 56 through which the screws 85 and 86 extend are preferably slots, as shown in FIG. 4', to provide for adjustment of the staff relative to the rocker member 80. The extent of this adjustment is controllable by a suitable set screw 88 threadedly mounted in the upper end of the staff 50.

The rockshaft 79 is journalled in the bushing 6'!a and is provided at the front end thereof with a crank arm 90 having a radial guide slot 91 therein. The rear end of the rockshaft 79 is in the form of a stem portion 92 projecting into the chamber 69 for connection with actuating means located in this chamber as will be explained hereinafter. The crank arm 90 is spaced relative to the housing 61, by a suitable washer 93 provided on the rockshaft 79, so that the front face of the crank arm and the rear face of the upper arm S3 or" the rocker member 80 lie in or adjacent the plane of the front face 22 of the support 11.

The rocker member 80 is connected with the crank arm 99 by means of a follower pin 94 mounted in the arm 83 and having a roller 95 operable in the guide slot 91. To accommodate the follower pin 94 in a manner to provide for adjustment thereof, the arm 83 has a slot 96 therein through which the stem portion 97 of the follower pin extends and in which such stem is adjustably secured by means of a clamping nut 98, applied to a threadedportion of the stem, and a set screw 99. lThe portion of the pin 94 on which the roller 95 is mounted is an enlargement or shoulder portion which engages one side ofthe arm 83 and a washer located under the nut 98 engages the other side of this arm, for applying the clamping force to the arm.

From the mounting arrangement provided for the article carrier 44, as just described above, it will be se'en that this carrier is supported by the pivot pin 76 Vso as to be tiltably swingable between the 'die members 15 and 16 for the back-and-forth movement of the fingers 52 between these die members. This tilting swinging of the carrier 44 is produced by the co-operation of the crank arm 9i? of the rockshaft 79 with the roller 95 of the follower pin 94.

The working travel or stroke of the carrier 44 during the tilting swinging movement thereof can be adjusted as to length, to properly locate the ngers 52 relative to the die members 15 and 16, by means of the above-described adjustment provided for the follower pin 94 in the arm 83 of the rocker member 80. Shifting of the follower pin 94 to a different position of adjustment in the arm S3 varies the eiectiveness of the crank arm 90.

The portions of the staff 5t) through which the clamping p screws S5 and 86 extend are provided with slots, as shown in FIG. 4, so that adjustment of the staff relative to the rocker member S0 is permissible to provide for further adjustment of the positioning of the fingers 52 relative t0 the die members 15 and 16.

The actuating means forV the rockshaft 79 is here shown as comprising a slide 1i2,reciprocably movable in the guideway 70 of the housing 61, and co-operating rack and inion members 163 and 194 connected with such slide and with the rockshaft. The rack 103 is secured to the slide 162 by suitable screws 105. The pinion member 164 is keyed on the stem 92 of the rockshaft 79 and is eld in a clamped relation between a thrust washer 106 and a spacer sleeve 107 by means of a clamping nut 10S engaged with a threaded portion 109 of this stem.

It will accordingly -be seen that reciprocation of the slide 192, as by means of a suitable actuating link 110 connected with mechanism of the header 21, will cause rocking of the rockshaft 79 in opposite directions to thereby swing the article carrier 44 in a tilting manner by the action of the crank arm 9i? on the follower pin 94 whereby the linger 52 will be moved back and forth between the dies 15 and 16 for a direct or nonreversing carry of the successive blanks 25 from the die member 15 to a position in front of the die member 16 for moven ment into the latter by the closing movement of the associated punch 34.

The supporting and actuating means for the article carrier 45 will be described next. As shown in the drawings, the carrier 45 is supported and actuated by a rock- 'shaft 112 journalled inthe hollow bearing or bushing 67h. Since the carrier 45 is supported by the rockshaft 112, no pivot pin is needed and, accordingly, the pivot pin opening 75 provided in the housing 61 adjacent the bushing 67b is unoccupied and open as shown in FIG. 5. The inner or rear end of the rockshaft 112 is in the form of a stem 113 projecting into the chamber 69 of the hous ing 61 for a purpose to be explained hereinafter.

At the front end thereof the rockshaft 112 is provided with an actuator portion in the form of a yoke 114 having spaced yoke arms 115 and 116 and a fork recess 117 between such arms. A collar 118, to which the carrier 45 is att-ached in a manner to be presently described, is located in the recess 117 and is connected with a pivot shaft 119. .The yoke arms 115 and 116 are provided with aligned antifriction bearings 120 and 121 in which the pivot shaft 119 is mounted so as to extend through the yoke arms in a transverse relation to the recess 117. The collar 11S is secured on the pivot shaft 119 as by means of a suitable pin 123.

The rockshaft 112 is mounted in the bushing 67b so that a thrust washer or spacer 124, disposed between the yoke 114 and the adjacent portion of the housing 61,

locates the pivot shaft 119 with the axis 125 thereof lying in an adjacently spaced relation to the front face 22 of the support 21. The pivot axis 125 of the pivot shaft 119 aoa'asas p'i7 s isthus also the pivot axis of the carrier for the reversing or turn-over pivotal movement referred to above for this carrier;

From the mounting arrangement forV the carrier 45, as provided by the actuator yoke 114 of the rockshaft 112 and described above, it will be seen that rocking of the Y rockshaft in opposite directions in the bushing 6!b willr cause a torsional or rotative movement of the yoke in t the axis of the clamping screw 143.V The set screws for opposite directions Vwhich will be elective on the carrier" 45, through the pivot shaft 119 and the collar 11S, to impart a tilting swinging to the carrier by which the latter will be moved back and forth between the die members 16 and 17. e

The rocking of the rockshaft 112 is produced by the above-mentioned reciprocation or' the slide 102 in the guideway 70 and, for this purpose, the slide is provided with a secondV rack 128 which co-operates with a gear sector 129 keyed on the Stem extension 113 of this rocio' shaft. The rear sector 129 is axially positioned on the stem portion 113 by means of a spacer sleeve 130 and a washer `11%1 between which the gear sector is Vclampedy by means of a retaining nut 132 applied to a threaded portion 133 of the stem extension.

The turn-over pivotal movement of Ythe carrier 45 is produced by co-Operating gear members 134 and 135, of

which the gear member 134 is a pinion keyed on a stem extension 136 of the pivot shaft 119 and retained thereon by a nut 137. The gear member 135 is inthe form of a curved gear segment which is Yseated on the convexly curved seat provided by the boss 68 of the housing 61 clamping the carrier 45 relative to lthe-collar 118 also include a set screw 147 'threadedly extending through the extension lug 145 and engaging the upper end of the arm portion 140. Y Y

From the mounting and actuating Ymeans `described above for the article carriers 44, 45, 46 and 47,-,it will now be recognized that'these carriers aretiltably swingableabont the axes of their associated rockshafts whereby the iingers 52 of the carriers will be moved to carry the blanks or articles from one to another of the dies ofthe die series 12. With respect to the carriers 44 and 47, it will be seen that these carriers will be actuated in a smooth and eilicient manner by the co-operating guide slot and follower pin elements 91 and 94, by which the tilting t swinging of these carriers on their pivot pins 76 will and is secured against such seat by suitable connecting Vscrews 138 threaded into the housing.V l

As shown in the drawings the pinion 134 and the gear segment 135 are of the bevel gear type and the pinion is4 rollable on the gear segment during the torsional or rotative movement of the-actuator yoke 114 which produces the tilting swinging ofthe carrier 45. This rollable engagement of the pinion on the gear segment- 135 accor ingly produces a rotation of the-,pivot shaft 119 in the bearings V120 and 121 to thereby impart the reversing or 'Y turn-over pivotal movement to the carrier 45.

Thestai 58 of the article carrier 45 can be of any appropriate shape and is here shown as having'an upper VYdirection of the offset of theY statt 59 are also such that the Ycenter. 56a of the inger recess VSti lies relatively close to the pivot axis 125. l

The collar 118 is of an appropriate shape for conveniently attaching the arm portion140 ofthe carrier 45 portion 140 is received.Y `The arm portion 14-3 is attached to the collar 118 by a screw 143 extending through the -lugs 141 and 142 and through a slot 144'provided in thisarm portion. yThe lug 141 is provided with an angular extension portion 145 at the upper end thereof and 'A which overhangs the intervening slot of the collar as shown in FIGS.l 3.and 4.

The slot 144 of the arm portion 148 permits adjustment ofthe carrier 145 relative to the face 22 by a tilting of Vthe carrier relative to the collar 11S and also by a translatory shifting of the carrier in a vertical direction relative tothe collar. When the carrier 45 has been appropriately adjusted relative to the-collar 118 to locate the lingers 52 in the proper relation to the die members withr which this carrier co-operates, the carrier can be clamped in this relation on the yoke 118 by means of suitable set SCTEWS.

y thereto and is here shown as having a pair of spaced'lugs 1141 and 142 with an intervening slot in which the arm produce a `direct or nonreversing transfer movement of the fingers 52 between the pairs of die members with which these carriers are associated. Y

With respect to the carriers 45. and 4a?, it will now be recognized that the rolling co-operation of the pinions 134 with their associated gear segments 135 during the rocking ofv the rockshafts 112 to produce the tilting swinging of theseY carriers, willV result in a concurrent or simultaneous pivotal movement of the carriers so that the transfer movement of these carriers between the pairs of die members with which they are associated will be a combined tilting swinging and turnover pivotal movement., This combination: lmovement is therefore of such Va character that'theV turn-over pivotalmoveme'nt is taking place'simultaneously with, and continuously during, the tilting'swingirigfand, accordinglthe'resultant movement 'of the fingers 52. will havethernecessary arcuate swing to travel from one Vtjo anotherv of the dies 16 and 17 but will have onli/"asmall radius of pivotal swing about the pivot axis 125.

The result of this combined movement will be that y there will be little tendency for the development of any substantial amount of centrifugal force acting on the blanks in the carriers 45 and 423 to tend to dislodge these Vblanks by Vthrowing them out of the carriers. Because of this elimination of any substantial amount of a throwing centrifugal Vaction on the blanks; the carriers 45 and 46 can be operated Yat a much higher speed and faster production rate for the articles being processed than is tthe ease with transfer mechanisms of the'ki'nd in which the'article carriers have a large radius of pivotal swing,

Since the carriers 45 and 46 operatewith a reduced radius Vof swing for their turn-over pivotal movement as explained above, they will not 'be subjected to excessive inertia eiects tending to cause rapid wear of the moving parts of the mechanism and there will also be less tendency for the fingers 52 of these carriers to be knocked or slapped against the die members with a collision action such as usually occurs for article carriers whose fingers haveV a large radius of turn-over pivotal movement. The reduction or eliminationV of such' slapping or colliding action of the fingers of the carriersj45. and 46 against the die members accordingly eliminatesor minimizes collision noise Aand greatly reduces'impactv damage and wear on the co-operating parts of the mechanism] From the construction described above for the mounting and actuating means provided for the article carriers 44 and 45, it will now also be seen that the rockshafts 79 and v1ll2'will be interchangeable in therbushingsiaand 67h so that, if desired, the nonreversing carrier 44 can be moved to the location of the reversing carrier 45 and vice versa. This will provide a much greater range of usefulness for the die apparatus because if the characteristics of the article being formed require that the blank be inverted while being transferred from one particular die to another, it will only be necessary to rearrange the article carriers and their associated supporting and actuating means to produce Vthe turn-over movement or inversion of the blank atthe time that this is needed.

in connection with this rearrangement of the article carriers 44 and 45 of transfer mechanism 13, it will be understood, of course, that the pivot prins 76 are used only to support nonreversing article carriers of the form represented by the carriers 44 and 47 and that the gear segments 135 are used only with article carriers having a turn-over pivotal movement, namely carriers of the yform represented by the carriers 45 and 46. The abovedescribed detachable mountings provided for the pivot pins 76 and for the gear segments 135 permits the use or omission of these components in the transfer mechanism 13 as may be needed therein.

The above-described combination swinging and pivotal movement of the carriers 45 and 46, by which the turnover pivotal movement of the fingers 52 on a short-swing radius is obtained, also results in another important advantage in the die apparatus 1G in that the carriers 45 and 46 can be accommodated in a relatively short space or shut-height between the support 21 and the slide 42. In other words, the short-radius turn-over pivotal movement oi the carriers 45 and 46 permits operation of the header 21 with the slide 42 moving through a relatively shorter opening travel, as compared with headers in which a transfer mechanism is used having a large-radius swing for the turn-over pivotal movement of the article carriers. This relatively shorter reciprocating travel of the punchcarrying slide 42 permits a faster operation of the header 2i and a consequent higher production rate, because less time is consumed during each operating cycle by the opening and closing movements of the slide.

Although the transfer mechanism of the present invention has been illustrated and described herein to a somewhat detailed extent it will be understood, of course, that the invention is not to be regarded as being limited correspondingly in scope but includes all changes and modifications coming within the terms of the claims hereof.

Having described our invention, we claim:

l. In transfer mechanism for transferring articles from one to another of dies disposed in a spaced parallel-axes relation and comprising at least three dies in a laterallyr extending row, a stationary support having a substantially vertical front face, spaced hollow bearings on said support and disposed in a row in an offset parallel relation to the row of dies and comprising at least two such bearings, said bearings being located substantially opposite the mid-points of the space intervals between said dies, said support also having pivot pin anchorage openings therein adjacent said bearings, a rst rockshaft rockable in one of said bearings on a fixed first pivot axis and having a crank arm thereon, a second rockshaft rockable in another of said bearings on a fixed second pivot axis and having a yoke thereon, upright carriers having holder means extending toward the die row and releasably engageable with articles to be transferred from one to anotherof said dies, a fixed pivot pin mounted in the anchorage opening associated with the bearing supporting said first rockshaft, a lirst one of said carriers being supported by said pivot pin for a tilting swinging thereof in a transfer path area extending parallel to said front face from one to another of one pair of said dies, pivot means connecting a second one of said carriers with said yoke for supporting and tilting swinging of said second carrier by said yoke in said transfer path area from one to another of a second pair of said dies, said pivot means having a third pivot axis extending transverse to said secondpivot axis and providing for a turn-over pivotal movement Iof said second carrier, means operable to cause concurrent rocking of said rockshafts in said bearings, co-operating guide and guide follower elements on said crank arm and first carrier for causing the tilting swinging of the latter in response to rocking of said first rockshaft in opposite directions, a stationary` curved gear segment on said support adjacent the bearing of said second rockshaft, and a pinion secured on said second carrier and located on said third pivot axis at a point therealong offset from said second pivot axis, said pinion being in mesh with and rollable on said stationary gear segment for causing the turn-over pivotal movement ,of said second carrier in response to the rocking of said second rockshaft in opposite directions.

2. Mechanism as defined in claim l wherein said pivot pin is removably shiftable from one to another of said anchorage openings, and wherein said rst and second rockshafts and their associated carriers are interchangeable in the bearings of said support.

3. In transfer'mechanism for transferring articles from one to another of a pair of dies disposed in a spaced parallel-axes relation; a stationary support; an article carrier having holder means releasably engageable with an article to be thus transferred; supporting and actuating means for said carrier for causing back-and-forth travel thereof between said pair of dies with a combined movement comprising a tilting swinging and a simultaneous substantially turn-over pivotal movement; said supporting and actuating means comprising a rockshaft rockable on said support about a fixed pivot axis extending parallel to the die axes; said carrier means depending from said rockshaft and said holder means being at the lower end of said carrier; said combined movement occurring in a transfer' path area which lies in front of said dies and extends in a transverse perpendicular relation to the die axes; means connecting said carrier with the rockshaft so as to be supported thereby including pivot means therebetween defining a second pivot axis extending transverse to the pivot aXis of the rockshait and providing for the turn-over pivotal movement of the carrier; actuating means connected with said rockshaft for rocking the same `alternately in opposite directions to cause the tilting swinging of said carrier in said transfer path area; and gear members connected with the support and carrier respectively and co-operably effective to cause said turn-over pivotal movement in response to the tilting swinging of the carrier; the gear member connected with said support being `a curved stationary .rack extending at least part way around the axis of said roel-'- shaft, and the gear member connected with said carrier being a pinion gear lmounted on the carrier at -a point of said second pivot axis which is odset from the rockshalft axis and being meshed with and rollable on said rac 4. In transfer mechanism for transferring articles from one to another of a pair of dies disposed in a spaced parallel-axes relation; a stationary support having an exposed face lying substantially in a plane extending in a transverse perpendicular relation to the die axes; a rockshaft on said support and rockable about a fixed axis which is offset from the parallel axes of the dies and located substantially opposite the mid-point of the space interval between said parallel axes; on article carrier having holder means releasably engageable with an article to be thus transferred; means connecting said carrier with said rockshaft for supporting the carrier thereby in a depending relation thereto for back-and-forth tilting swinging or" the carrier between said dies in a planar path area lying adjacent said face and extending substantially parallel thereto; actuating means for rocking said rockshaft alternately in opposite directions to cause said back-and-fort'n tilting swinging of said carrier; said connecting means comprising pivot means having a second pivot axis extending transverse to the pivot axis of said rockshaft and nected with said carrieibeing mounted thereon at a point of said second pivot axis which is offset fromy the rockshaft axis andbeing meshed with and rollable onrsaid gear sector. v

5. in transfer mechanism for transferring articles from one to another of a pair of dies disposed in a spaced'parallel-axes relation, a stationary support having a front wall, a rockshaft on said support and rockable about a fixed axis odset from vsaid dies and located substantially opposite the mid-point of the space interval between said dies, yoke means connected with said roel-shaft and s'upported thereby in an overhang relation to said front wall, an article Vcarrier supported by and pivoted in said yoke means on a second pivot axis lying adjacent said front f wall and extending transverse to the rockshaft axis, said carrier extending in a depending relaton'from said yoke means and having holder means at the lower endV thereof releasably engageable with an article to be thus transferred, means for rocking said rockshaft to cause a tilt- Y ing swinging of said carrier for moving said holdernmeans from one to another of said dies, a rotatable gear member secured on said carrier and-located onrsaid second pivot axis at a point otset from therocksh'aft axis, and a stationary curved gear ymember attached to said support and engaged by the rotatable 'gear member for causing a substantially` 180 turn-over pivotal movement of said carrier in said yoke means in response to the tilting swinging of the carrier. V Y i 6. in transfer-,mechanism for transferring articles from one to another of dies disposed in a spaced parallel-axes relation in a laterally extending row, a stationary support Vhaving an 'exposed front face, laterally kspaced rockshafts onVV said support'and disposed in a row located above and parallel Yto the rowof dies, said shafts being rockable about tixed rst pivot axes located substantially opposite the mid-points of the space intervals between said dies', said rocltshaits having yoke-shaped actuator portions projecting beyond said surface, iirst rotatable gear members se- Y cured on said rockshafts, upright article carriers having holder portions extending toward said dies and releasably engageable with articles to be thus transferred, pivot means connecting saidvcarriers with said actuator portions ou second pivot axes extendingtransverse to the rock.- shaftY axes and providing for a substantially 180 turnover pivotal movement ofY said carriers, Yrack means movable on said'support and co-operablerwith said first gear f members for rocking said shafts to thereby cause tilting swinging of said carriers in a transfer path area lying in an adjacent parallel relation to said front face for moving said holder portions fromone to anotherrof said dies, stationary 'curved gear segments connected with said support, and other rotatable gear members secured on said carriers and located on said second pivot axes at points odset therealong from said rst pivot axes, saidother gearV members being rollably engaged with said gear segments l2 for Vcausing'the turn-over pivotal movement of said carriers during the tilting swinging thereof by said rockshafts. f

7. In transfer mechanism for transferring articles from one to another of a pair of dies disposed in a spaced parallel-axes relation, a stationary support, a rockshaft on said support and rockable about a fixed iirst pivot axis odset from said -dies and located substantially opposite the mid-point of the space interval between nsaid dies, a yoke on said rockshaft and having spaced arms provided with aligned bearings, a pivot shaft mounted in said bearings for pivotal movement on-a. second pivot Vaxis extending transverse to the first pivot axis, a collar on said pivot shaft and disposed between'saidarms, a carrier supported by said rockshaft b'y having one end thereof connected with said collar and its other end extending toward said dies and including holder means releasably engageable with an article to be thus transferred, means operable to rockisaid rockshaft to cause a tilting swinging of said carrier for moving said holder means from one to another of said diesa pinion Vconnected Vwith said pivot'V shaft atv a pointl oifset therealong from said rst pivot axis, and a stationary curved gear segment connected with said support and rollably engaged by said pinion for causing turn-overV pivotal swinging of said carrier in response to the tilting swinging thereof by said 'rockshaft l 8. In transfer mechanism for transferring articles from one to another of a pairV of dies disposed in a spaced parallel-axes relation in a laterally extending row, a stationary support having a front face, a rockshaft on said support and Vrockable abouta ixed first pivot axis which is offset from said dies and lies substantially in a iirst vertical plane extending normal to the die row and containing the mid-point of the space interval between said dies, an upright carrier having holder means extending towardfthe die row and releasably engageable with an article toY be thus transferred, a fixed pivot pin projecting from said support and directly supportingfsaidrcarrier for tilting swinging thereof on a second xed pivot axis from one to another of said dies and in a second vertical plane parallel with said front face, said second fixed pivot axis extending parallel to the rockshaft axisand lying in said rst yvertical plane, a crank armen said rockshaft, actu- Aating means connected with said rockshaft to rock the same, and cooperating guide and guide follower means on said crank'arm and carrier for causing the tilting swinging of said carrier in response tothe rocking of the rockshaft. Y

9; Transfer mechanism as defined in claim 8, wherein the guide means is on Vsaid crank arm and comprises a slotted portion thereof, said Yguide follower means comprising a roller received in said slotted'portion and pivoted on said carrier at a Ypoint offset therealong from said second fixed axis.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,728,267 Schaeier .'..e Dec. 27,V 1955 

